Two years ago the residents of Northwest Baltimore and Pikesville learned that a mosque would be moving into their neighborhood. After years of waiting on renovations and inspections, the Ahmadi Muslim mosque finally will open its doors later this year, giving residents of the predominantly Jewish community an opportunity to interact with a population that… Read More

The Baltimore Jewish Council is gearing up for its annual Advocacy Day in Annapolis on Wed., Feb. 5. As in past years, organizers expect about 150 community members, state legislators and executive branch officials to come together to discuss the council’s legislative priorities. “On Advocacy Day, we enthusiastically represent the Jewish community and inform our… Read More

Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley gave his eighth and final State of the State address last week in Annapolis. He used the Jan. 23 speech as a way to chronicle his two terms as governor and call on the General Assembly to increase the minimum wage, move toward universal pre-kindergarten, better protect domestic violence victims and… Read More

On Sunday Jan. 26, Sam Gertner — father to three, grandfather to four, great-grandfather to five, accomplished musician, voracious reader, seasoned writer and avid traveler — celebrated a century of living surrounded by family and friends. The party took place at Springhouse of Pikesville, a senior living facility on Reisterstown Road, but Gertner has come… Read More

Last Saturday morning’s fatal shooting at a popular Howard County shopping mall sent shock waves through the typically quiet suburb of Columbia, Md., with members of the area’s close-knit Jewish community joining their neighbors in mourning a sense of safety shattered by a teenager’s bullets. Lynn Green, president of local Reform congregation Bet Aviv, shops… Read More

The waiting room at the Takoma Wellness Center looks not unlike a doctor’s office. Two black leather chairs bestride a coffee table, and informational pamphlets reside in a display on the back wall. A hamsa, a Middle Eastern symbol for health, happiness and good fortune, sits above one of the chairs. But in the next… Read More

Recent events — the release of Jacob Ostreicher, President Barack Obama’s handshake with Cuban President Raul Castro and the ongoing diplomatic talks with Iran — may bode well for the fate of several Americans being held hostage overseas. While each case is different, the outcomes of such figures as Alan Gross in Cuba and Robert… Read More

Hadassah of Greater Baltimore’s eighth annual CELL-A-BRATE event will feature a night of music and dancing with Bruce in the USA — a tribute band to Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band — as well as a catered reception, drink offerings and a silent auction. The gathering promises to raise critical funds necessary to… Read More

Adolf Hitler’s close confidant Alfred Rosenberg actively sought out his leader’s praise, but was himself deeply-committed to the cause of creating a superior race in a world without Jews. So concludes Juergen Matthas, director for applied research at the Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies. As the point man at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum assigned… Read More

Government grants and health insurance companies award a bigger share of benefits to senior citizens living in residential facilities, but Holocaust survivors are better off aging in their own homes, according to several people testifying at a two-hour Senate Special Committee on Aging hearing Jan. 15. The United States, they reasoned, must convince the German… Read More